Proposed zoning changes circulated

Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee (PRCAC) activities remain on hold but committee members are taking the lull as an opportunity to circulate their proposed changes to development regulations relevant to Point Roberts.

Drafted at the end of January, a document titled “Improvements for Point Roberts Special District 20.72” was provided to committee members at the PRCAC February meeting. The document distills proposed changes to development regulations, most of them in the Small Town Commercial (STC) zone.

“We received suggestions back from Whatcom Planning and Development staff in March but they couldn’t do anything further at that time with the pandemic, which shut down all meetings,” PRCAC member Steve Wolff told members of the Point Roberts Taxpayers’ Association (PRTA) at their May 13 virtual meeting. “The planning commission would have been the next stop.”

With the building at 1480 Gulf Road recently brought into code compliance as a multi-use building, the changes propose to address the issue of containers used for storage by allowing businesses in the STC zone to have storage containers and sheds as long as they are set back 50 feet from the road and adequately screened. Following a suggestion by planning staff, Wolff said they were recommending each business in the zone could be allowed one container with up to two as a conditional use. “It keeps a lid on it,” Wolff said.

The changes in the STC zone also recommend decreasing setbacks for commercial buildings, harmonizing rules for storage facilities as a conditional use, prohibiting further vehicle repair businesses, and loosening parking restrictions to allow side and front parking for new commercial construction. Gas station signs are recommended limited to 12 feet high with text no larger than six inches, but electronic colored letters and numbers would not be prohibited.

A change is proposed in the Resort Commercial Zone to allow bed and breakfasts, which are now prohibited.

While county planners had recommended strengthening tree retention rules to align them with similar regulations in other parts of the county, the committee is recommending delaying any changes until more information can be collected about the potential impacts.

Wolff said “there was a plan to do more,” to educate the community about the proposed changes but “then this thing called the pandemic happened. Now it’s probably next year,” before the matter gets before the county planning commission and goes to county council for final approval.

PRCAC does not have plans to meet until restrictions on public meetings are lifted.

(Ed. note: The text of the suggested changes can be found with this story on allpointbulletin.com)